lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

I haven't read all the comments, but here is my two cents. Since you retired 15 years ago, you are probably not a spring chicken. If you can afford it, I say "Go for it". Who are you saving your money for? Transitioning to mirrorless is not that big of a deal. Getting use to the electronic shutter might be the biggest hurtle, and some additional settings and additional functionality on the mirrorless. If you are skeptical, borrow a friend's camera for a day or rent one for a week. New adventures like this are exciting and will exercise your brain.

Rchriso

Added a Z 6ll to my D7500 and Coolpix 1000. D7500 lenses are Tamron 24-400, auto, Nikon 70 to 300,auto. Z lenses are Nikor 24-70 and 70-300. As you probably know, Coolpix is 24-3000, digital to 12,000. Prefer the z to dslr for size and speed. Have adapter for all dslr lenses ontoZ. Shoot everything in raw. Use double 1tb discs in z for video and stills. Recent trip took 11,000 shots and 8 hours video, with bridge uploaded all to cloud but kept originals on discs.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Do it! You’ll never look back! Enjoy your new found freedom.

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

You are doing fine with what you have. I'm 89 and my Canon 80D with the 18-135 lens covers most of what I need and is not too heavy - yet. I'd say stick with what you have until you can't use them. The organ tuner's dictum: "If it works don't fix it."

mmills79 Loc: NJ

Another user posted that they went to a Canon R7. I also have a D7200 and I also went to the R7 for quite a few reasons. The technology in the R7 is superior to that of an older DSLR. The footprint is smaller and easier to carry around. The cost of the body + a lens (18-150) is a very affordable $1400 or so with the rebate they were offering at the time. Having real-time feed back on exposure in the view finder or the rear screen is a huge plus. Having all the new features like object tracking, focus stacking, inbody stabilization, 33MP capability so you can crop more effectively and not lose a lot of resolution, a feature that allows incredible panoramas, and many other new features too much to mention not available on the D7200 made the transition really worthwhile. Clearly the downside is the lenses but I have an ES wide angle, and I picked up a RF 50mm prime inexpensively along with a RF 100-400, and I could not be happier! I love my D7200 but quite frankly for sports, I can do more with the electronic shutter than I could ever do with the D7200 without a lot of stressing over shutter speed and capture rate. So, I still have the Nikon for certain things and I likely will not lose it but think about the R7.... it won't break the bank and it will transition you into a space remarkably more capable than what the D7200 can give you. I don't see this as a GAS attack but more as a highly useful upgrade. Just my thoughts..... Hope this helps your head.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

My recommendation would be...

Get a Nikon Z50 in kit with the Z DX 16-50mm and Z DX 50-250mm lenses.... and add an FTZ adapter for a total of approx. $1500. The adapter will allow you to use your current 200-500mm on the mirrorless camera.

The Z50 is a DX camera, same as your current D7200s. As a result, with the above kit you will enjoy virtually the same range of focal lengths you have now. If, on the other hand, you go to a full frame like the Sony a7 III, you'll need bigger, heavier, more expensive lenses to go with it. You'll end up with a heavier kit of gear than you have now.

If you like the mirrorless experience, you can add a 2nd camera later... maybe another Z50 or some other model that Nikon introduces in the future.... or maybe a full frame mirrorless to complement the DX camera(s).

At any rate, I think it would be a mistake to get into another system. You would need both the camera and lenses to go with it. There's nothing wrong with Sony gear... although I'm not a fan of their APS-C cameras because of the "rangefinder" design. They just seem uncomfortable to use with large telephoto lenses.

yorkiebyte Loc: Scottsdale, AZ/Bandon by the Sea, OR

I gots some advice for ya….
Hit “Quote Reply” for all of us. Try it! It might even be fun! Or don’t. I really don’t care.
Idiotic thread to begin with. Nobody cares.

mmills79 Loc: NJ

[quote=Cryppy]Up front I will admit to having a bit of GAS as part of my motivation.


*************************


......I don't disagree with that. It would have been great to stay in the Nikon family. The problem with the Z50 (and I begged Nikon to put out something that would compete with the Canon R7) is of course the 20 MP chip. The chip they used in the Z50 definitely lags the R7 (which is also an APSC). I have a bunch of F mount lenses I could have used with the F-Z adapter but in the end, the functionality and Image quality advantage of the R7 over the Z50 was compelling enough to switch vendors and the cost was not really much more in doing so, ....even taking into account the ability to repurpose the Nikon lenses. I also agree going to Sony would be a huge shift and their APSC cameras for me were somewhat an uncomfortable to hold, especially with a larger lens.

Others have suggested that really the right way to handle this is to go to a reputable store (Like B&H or Unique or Adorama or someone) and check the bodies out for yourself. Nothing we can say can replicate your getting your hands on a body to see for yourself.

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

I really like my APS-C Sony's (a6000 and a6500) and while I'm not sure what you'd call a "large telephoto lens", I use an 18-135mm as my 'standard lens' on the a6500 (the a6000 has been relegated to my macro set-up) as well as a 55-210mm telephoto. But I do have an old 400mm preset that I've had for years, the first image below is one of the first pictures that I took with it at a Detroit Lion's football game in the old Tiger Stadium, October 1972, where I got a nice shot of the Lion's QB, Greg Landry, warming-up before the game (any old Detroit fans out there?).

The second image shows that same 400mm lens mounted on my Sony a6500 (the unit in the 'hot-shoe' is a wireless remote shutter release).

And despite being over 50-years old, it's still a good lens for the occasional long shot, like the last two images. Note that since they were taken using an APS-C camera, the effective focal length is actually 600mm and they were both taken using Sony's 'Clear Image Zoom' option giving it a digitally enhanced effective focal length of 1200mm. Now while the last image was cropped to about 1/4 of the frame, the shot of the moon is a full 6000 x 4000 pixel image (i.e. no cropping).

Taken at a Detroit Lion's football game in Detroit, Michigan in October 1972 - Minolta SRT-101 - 400mm


That same 400mm lens mounted on my Sony a6500, taken in December 2020 - Sony a6000 - 16-50mm


An image of the 'Pink' supermoon taken in April 2023 - Sony a6500 - 400mm (X2)


An image of Jupiter and four of its moons, taken in November 2022 - Sony a6500 - 400mm (X2 and cropped)

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

With respect to holding the camera, my Sony a6500 is much more comfortable than was the a6000, despite not changing the battery size, they still enlarged and extended forward the right-side hand-grip and it's a big improvement when holding the camera, particularly when using a heavier lens. Now I understand that with the Sony a6600, they went to a larger battery, and as as result, they beefed-up that right-side hand-grip even more so, and from what I've read, this change seems to have been well received.

Miker999

I've been shooting since 1981. I now have Primary Progressive MS. and switching to a Mirrorless body has allowed me to continue my love for photography. My Canon 5Dmklll was too heavy. I do regret selling all my glass and wish I got an adapter to use them on my new camera, which is diffrent brand.
(I did have to give up a very profitable School Sports photography business that I had for several years.)

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I shoot a lot of sports and some wildlife with 300mm f/4 (3 lb.)and 100-400mm (3.5 lb.) lenses. They balance nicely and comfortably on my 2+ lb. DSLRs with battery grips. They are APS-C cameras, but their body is the same size and weight as some full frame. Those are what I consider reasonably "large telephoto" lenses that I tend to hand hold a lot. To me the Sony a6000-series feel awkward even with a 70-200mm f/2.8 (about 2.5 lb.), let alone an even larger lens like that 300mm or 100-400mm.

Plus I notice you have that 400mm lens on a tripod. I was referring specifically to hand held shooting. I put my 300mm f/2.8 (6 lb.) and 500mm f/4 7.5 lb.) lenses on a tripod too... or at least a monopod. I rarely shoot them hand held... at least not for more than a few minutes!

Another small "issue" I have with the a6000-series design is they are "right eye" cameras. The eyeport being located far left is fine when using one's right eye to the viewfinder... which can be good shooting sports, allowing "both eyes open". However, some of my shooting days go 10, 12 or more hours. I often switch eyes when the other gets tired. A centered pentaprism (or EVF) and viewfinder eyeport makes shooting with either eye pretty easy.

I do have a small mirrorless (Canon M5). I bought it especially for the compact size and unobtrusiveness, as a "street photography", travel and candid portrait rig. Even with four small lenses (all primes), it weighs about the same as one of my DSLR bodies. In fact, it's so compact and light that I found it really uncomfortable until I fitted with an L-bracket (which is something I never do with DSLRs... not a fan of L-brackets, except in this case).

But, all that's just me and what I'm comfortable with. I can see where someone else might really like the Sony APS-C camera design. Another response suggested going to a store and handling the various cameras being considered, which I agree is a good idea if possible.



The Canon R7 would be my choice, too. 32.5MP! (Not to pick nits, but the Z50 is close to 21MP! )

Yes, I recommended sticking with Nikon and the Z50 for sake of familiarity and compatibility with current gear... as well the original poster's current Nikon DSLRs (21MP and 24MP) and the Sony they mentioned (24MP). Yes, they "dreamed of" 46MP D850, but seem to be "getting by" with a whole lot less.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Superb shooting with that muscle-buster 😛😛😛😛😛

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Too bad it didn't come with sound

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

Note that the photo I shot at the Lion's football game with that 400mm lens, that was handheld. Now of course, I was using a Minolta SRT-101 SLR which was a bit heavier than my current Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras, but not by that much.